European Firefighters Unite to Battle Greek Wildfires Amid Challenging Weather Conditions

The Greek Fire Department announced on Wednesday that it expects over 200 firefighters from Romania, Slovakia, and Poland to arrive in Greece by Friday as part of the European mutual assistance in combating the violent wildfires raging in the country.

Giannis Artopios, the spokesperson for the Fire Department, stated that "Greece requested three firefighting teams through the European Civil Protection Mechanism," and Romania, Slovakia, and Poland responded by sending a total of 230 firefighters.

Accordingly, Romania will send 50 additional firefighters with ten vehicles on Thursday, followed by 149 Polish firefighters with 49 vehicles and 31 Slovakian firefighters with 15 vehicles on Friday.

These reinforcements will support hundreds of Greek firefighters who, as confirmed by Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias, have been fighting a "tremendous battle against the flames" for the third consecutive day in areas west and north of Athens, as well as on the island of Rhodes.

According to the minister, these efforts come amid challenging weather conditions exacerbated by strong winds reaching speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.